The Next Generation
by FanFantasyWriter
Summary: Years have passed since the Soul Eaters were defeated but several things weigh heavily on Torak's mind. His memories haunt him at every turn, Wolf has grown old,and the lives of his children are shadowed by omens he and Renn can't understand...
1. Chapter 1

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

A new Generation

Chapter One

Torak couldn't believe that almost four years had passed since he and Renn had defeated the soul eaters and left the Raven Clan to set off on their own. She was his mate now and he knew that they would be a father and a mother very soon. Renn and the child needed him to get meat; he prayed that this hunt would be successful. This was probably his most important hunt ever. He listened. He spun round, he'd grown up in this part of the forest. Now his child would be born here. Ah yes, a young red deer had stopped to drink at the brook fifty paces away. He knocked an arrow to his bow and moved toward it as silently as he could and signaled to Wolf, Darkfur, and Pebble to do the same. The wolves spread out. The deer was surrounded it would not get away. Its small head sprang up from the tasty grass it had found (a rarity this time of year). A bitter winter wind came from the mountains and blew all their scents strait toward it. _Torak, do something, shoot it now before it bolts! _He screamed at himself in his head.

He drew back his bowstring and released it. Yes! Right in the heart! The animal shuddered and then fell to the frozen forest floor as its knees gave out. Torak barked a warning to the pack to stay away and moved toward it. Its eyes were clouded, the souls inside were about to leave.

He gently lifted the head of the dying animal. "Go in peace friend. I will use your body well. Thank you."

He went and found a claw-like branch from a dead-wood tree and lifted the carcass on to it so it could be dragged back to camp.

Renn was waiting for them when they got back. A fire was burning and the woodpile had grown. She'd probably gathered more wood after he left. Why did she keep insisting on doing things like this so close to when their child would come? Still with this, plus his deer kill and the roebuck the wolves had brought down three days earlier the pack was prepared to welcome the child. He'd made their shelter large and sturdy and had built a wall around it out of stone blocks and river clay. Their old jerkins from a few summers back would serve as rags for the birthing, and a rope of braided horsehair that divided into two at one end hung from the shelter's ceiling as an outlet for Renn's pain-filled grip when the time came. Everything was ready.

Pebble, the youngest of the wolves went off on his own. Renn watched it go in envious silence. It had been over three moons since she herself had hunted. Torak felt a pang of worry, he'd set traps in the young wolf's direction that the pack did not know about. He banished that thought to the back of his mind and embraced Renn. Her deep red hair rub against the skin of his neck and her scent fill his world. This was what mattered this was what he loved.

He released her and noticed out of the corner of his eye that both their water skins were empty. He picked them up and headed back for the stream. So many memories were twisted up in this area. Their camp was in the gully where he'd first met wolf and this was the same stream where Fa had sent him just before he died. _Look behind you Torak. _His father's last advice to him rang in his ears and he looked over his shoulder, nothing. He filled the water skins and backtracked toward camp. That was when he heard Renn scream and he broke into a run.

Renn nearly collapsed from pain. It was time, without knowing how she knew she knew her child was coming. She felt hot and her mind reeled with the sharp pains that moved through her gut. She struggled to think straight but she forced herself to remain calm. They'd practiced for this based on what they'd seen of a birth at the last clan meet. She backed into the shelter and let herself fall onto the pile of soft hides beneath her. She let out an anguished cry then bit her lip to stop another from escaping. _Torak will return soon enough. I must not scream! It serves no purpose to scream. _She told herself. She found the strength to reach up for the rope and gripped it as if it were her lifeline. Then she heard the blessed thud of her mate's boots moving swiftly toward her.

"Renn," he said "I'm here."

With Torak's help Renn endured several more painful hours. Then beneath the light of the full black-horn moon she gave birth to no just one child but twins! The girl who was the older of the two, shared her mother's deep red hair but had her father's large gray eyes. The boy looked a lot like Torak. They shared almost every feature and he already seemed alert to the sounds of the forest.

When both of them were wrapped in warm hides against the cold winter and safely in their mother's lap Renn turned to the girl and said "My child welcome to the world, I name you Rinn and you are Raven Clan." Then she turned to the boy and said "Welcome little one, I name you Tak and you are also Raven clan." She said the words with love but when she met Torak's eyes she was visibly upset.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know if wrong is really the word here but… the children, if you look closely at their eyes they have black rings where the gray stops and the white begins and tonight is Souls' Night."

"Both of those are omens aren't they?" he asked. Renn nodded.

Torak's whole body went stiff, "good or bad? What does this mean?"

"I don't know. I can only guess that we'll find out what this means when they're old enough to show us."

Seven more years passed and as the twins grew they learned the skills from Torak and Renn that would allow them to survive on their own when they were older. Growing up with the pack meant that they both could speak wolf like their father. This is how they lived, alone in the forest with their parents constantly wandering around the area in a cycle dictated by the seasons and the availability of resources. Torak knew that if things had been different, if his mother had lived, then his own childhood would have been very much like this.

Torak saw, as he was carrying firewood that Tak was trying to get wolf to play. He frowned, his faithful pack brother had grown old. Mostly he simply lay down with his own mate, observed the children from a respectable distance, and didn't move much unless there was a hunt. He missed the days when the twins had been very young and Wolf and Darkfur were still strong. Almost as soon as they could walk, Tak and Rinn had followed the wolves as far as possible. But time had robbed Wolf and Darkfur of the boundless energy they'd once had. Wolf was fourteen summers old now and it occurred to Torak that in wolf time that must be very old. That thought saddened him. How long would it be before he would have to say his last goodbyes to his beloved pack-brother?

He banished the thought. Wolf's aging was unavoidable, what was really weighing so heavy on his mind was the fact that he still hadn't solved the mystery of the eye-rings and his children's' birthnight. Renn didn't have the answer yet either. She found no signs and the guardian didn't speak to her.

In the meantime the twins were ready for clan tattoos. As their father it was Torak's duty to mark them. Not to mention that the clan meet was coming up. Renn wanted them all to go so that they could meet up with the clan and introduce the twins to Finn-Kedinn and also Dark because since he was a mage as well he may be able to help decode the omens that hung over them.

But this brought back Torak's memories of his own first clan meet with his Father at the same age Tak and Rinn were now. It had been a disaster and Fa had never taken him again.

Renn stopped teaching Rinn, which plant to use to ward off fever, and met his eyes. She instantly knew his thoughts. "Your Fa was a hunted man. Stories were already being told about him and that hung over both of you. We are not hunted. You can't assume the children will have the same bad experience." Torak knew she was right.

A few days later Torak made blue-black ink out of blackberries, then one at a time he took Tak and Rinn into the forest, and drew the three lines on their cheekbones that was the Raven Clan's mark.

The clan meet began a half moon later on the western shore; the same shore where Torak had first met Bale who was now dead, Bale who had been like a brother.

But it was the colorless face of Dark who greeted them. Renn recounted to him the night that the twins had been born. Dark said he would try and asked where they were.

Across the beach some children were gathered around watching Rinn use a stone to draw a picture in the sand, her brother was among them. When Torak, Renn, and Dark arrived they gasped at what the little girl had drawn. It was an eye with what seemed to be the rays of the sun coming out of it, the moon moving in to eclipse the eye/sun, and the three-pronged fork. She looked up, her strange black rimmed gray eyes were full of innocence and life. "Hi Father, Mother."

"What _is_ it?" Torak asked.

"Oh the drawing, you mean you've never seen her before Father? She's always doing that." Tak answered.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Do you mean that your sister often draws things like this?" Dark asked.

"Yes, she's done this a lot since before I can remember." The boy told the mage. He turned to Torak. "Does it mean anything important Father?"

He met his son's worried gaze, Torak couldn't lie to Tak. "I don't know, right now no one does."

Dark turned to Renn, "copy the picture onto some hide then draw an earth-blood circle around the drawing if this is the work of a demon then it will disappear."

Tak grabbed his sister's hand and led her away.

It took all of Torak's limited self control not to growl at Dark, "But if you want it to disappear within the circle then why would you re-draw it?"

"I don't want it to, I'm hoping this has nothing to do with the evil ones and their work with demons but if it does then we have to preserve what we're seeing so that there is time to understand it."

Tak was a miniature version of his father in almost every way and he pulled his sister away from the beach at the same speed and with nearly identical long strides as Torak.

"Where are we going Tak?" Rinn asked while being pulled as fast as their small size would allow her brother to go.

We're going to where Mother's clan is camped." He told his sister.

Suddenly she made herself trip over a driftwood branch. She let go of her brother's hand. "Have I done something wrong?"

Tak saw that his sister's eyes were full of fear, it was the first time he'd ever known her to show fear. He wanted desperately to reassure her that nothing bad had or would happen. After they were twins, they were connected more deeply than normal siblings were. Tak didn't know how he understood that. He knew only that when a friendly hunting party had met up with the family three summers back they had marveled at the fact that they were twins. They're mother had explained only that twins were quite rare and that it made them special.

"You didn't do anything," he said at last, "you just did what you do and Fa and the other's don't understand it. Come on, Mother said to find the clan before dark if we got separated."

They ran down the beach toward where the Ravens were camped, they saw when they got there that the colorless man called Dark was helping to build a shelter for them. They decided to just sit down by the nearest fire. There was an old man sitting there and Tak noticed in surprise that he looked a little like their mother!

"Hello," the old man said, "I know who you two are, I would know the children of my niece and foster son anywhere. You young man, are a near exact copy of your father at your age."

Tak was puzzled, the old man clearly knew that Tak would take that as a vast compliment but… who was he?

"I am Finn-Kedinn, leader of the Raven Clan, and your mother's uncle. I also fostered your father for a while. Welcome children, to your clan."

So this was their great uncle. They'd grown up with the story of how it had been him that had taught their mother to shoot.

When the shelter was built, Torak and Renn joined them by the fire. Soon the mysterious drawing was almost forgotten and laughing and old stories filled the air. Tak sensed his parents' happiness and felt at peace. Nothing would happen. Fa and Mother didn't seem to worried and they were protected by a clan and a family who loved them.

That was when a man whom Fa addressed as Thull came led Finn-Kedinn, Torak, Renn, and Dark toward the forest's edge. There in the darkness of the night was the shape of the three-pronged fork pointing into the trees.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"That thing… on the ground… it-it means something bad. Doesn't it Mother?" Rinn asked.

Renn jumped, she'd no idea that the children were behind them which made her feel as if she was losing her edge. If the last fourteen summers since she met Torak had taught her anything it was to notice everything around you. She and Torak had made a pact long ago, they'd each sworn on their three souls and heir most precious possessions that neither one of them would ever lie to the children or not tell them what was going on. Torak's father had kept so much from his son, Torak didn't hate him for it but would not make the same mistake. "Yes, it is the mark of a group of people who once used magecraft for very dark and evil things."

"Well what happened to them?" Tak asked.

"They-their power was broken… someone killed all of them and undid most of the damage they did to the clans. Don't worry, they've been gone since before you two were born." She reassured him.

"But Mother…" Rinn chimed in once more, "they're not gone… their mark was in what I drew. The pictures tell me things. I never understand what I'm supposed to know from them right away. But then after awhile I see more things that give me clues and I start to understand." It was the same as before, Rinn clearly had no idea at all of how serious the situation was becoming.

Without a word Dark stalked off to check if the drawing had disappeared. It hadn't. This was _not_ the work a demon. It was something else.

Wolf felt more full of nervous energy than he had in countless lights and darks. He stalked and paced at the edge of the forest for what seemed to be forever. Tall Tailless's female cub was more powerful than any of them understood. She saw things, for her the urge to make marks on the ground was the same sense that had told Wolf long ago that he was meant to hunt demons. She made the marks because it was what she was for. Wolf called her Seer for this reason.

This new mark she'd made and the one that seemed to have come from nowhere were warnings. Without knowing how they did, she knew it and Wolf knew it. Right now his little pack-sister was very scared. She didn't know how to interpret the marks and was scared of how the other tailesses in the pack saw it. Wolf wanted to go to her but he couldn't, Tall Tailless would defend his own cub and the full-grown pack-sister would too.

"So this is not the work of a demon?" Torak asked.

"No, I don't think so. I think that it is safe to say that the drawing has meaning and that it is connected to the three-pronged fork we found here. Yet I sense no evil in either sign or in your daughter. But I am also convinced that someone who wants the soul eaters to rise again is somehow involved."

"But how does Rinn fit into all of this?" Torak and Finn-Kedinn said together. Renn kept the twins close to her and nodded in agreement.

"Well," Dark began, "it could be that Rinn draws omens that are sent to her." He was speaking to Renn directly now. "When you were a child you had omens sent to you in dreams because you were born with raw talent for magecraft. Rinn's drawings aren't of things she's seen… she had no idea at all what the three-pronged fork was. It seems to be more that she goes into a trance and then draws what she needs to see."

"So what you're saying is that signs are being sent to the clans through a child's drawings?" Torak asked.

Dark nodded, for awhile they stood there in silence. Nothing disturbed or over-powered the chatter of the wind and the sea.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Nothing happened to give any more hints as to the drawings for the rest of the clan meet. When it was over they returned to the forest. The encounter on the beach had left Rinn afraid so that she no longer showed her drawings to anyone. She hid them by erasing them almost as soon as she lifted her hand from her work. Four more years passed before she drew anything else of significance.

She and Tak were eleven winters old now. She felt the familiar prickling, burning, come over her hand. It was like being pricked with countless bone-needles that had been freshly burned. She picked up a stone and began feverishly scratching this new vision into the ground. She had no choice. Everything else including her now long held resistance to it was erased at that moment. It was as if all except what she was doing was forced from her mind.

When done she had no idea what it was… there were three lines and the sign of the hand to ward off evil which had for some reason, been crossed out. She had no idea what so ever what to make of it until a quarter moon later.

"I'm going hunting… on-on my own if that's all right with you Fa… Mother. Um… I'll take the wolves with me I-I promise." Tak told them nervously one afternoon. It would be the first time he'd been hunting on his own. From the start they'd always hunted as a family once the twins could go at all.

For some strange reason seeing her brother and the pack leave struck something inside Rinn that told her there could be no good to come of it. But she couldn't think for the life of her why.

Tak couldn't wait to hunt on his own… he'd left until afternoon because if Torak had taught him anything at all it was that the best time for tracking was at sunset when the shadows grew long. The first tracks he found were those of a forest horse. Normally he would never have gone after such large prey alone but he noticed that the hoof-print to the back right of every set was lighter. This one was already hurt it was limping. He followed the tracks and came in as close to it as he dared. Other than the injured leg it was beautiful. Orange fiery hide and a long brown mane.

But that didn't matter. The young hunter took aim with his bow. _Think of the target and nothing else think only of the target. _But he faltered. Instead of the headshot he'd been aiming for, the arrow hit the uninjured back leg. The animal turned and charged him. In a few heartbeats Tak was on the ground underneath the suddenly vicious creature which was suddenly far more massive than it had seemed at a distance. He noticed that its eyes were a churning evil red. Behind him Wolf growled, _Get off my pack-brother! _The elderly wolf seemed to be saying, although Tak was unsure if he'd made it out clearly. The horse bolted and head-butted Wolf in the ribs with surprising force. After that it sped away. Tak rolled onto his stomach. Wolf was coughing up blood. Just as Tak rose to his feet Wolf collapsed. He ran over to the companion he'd known all his life but poor Wolf's eyes were already clouded with death. Darkfur and Pebble had run after the horse. Tak shrank to his knees. Tears streamed his face. "No-No, please Wolf, you can't die. You can't! Why is this happening? Don't-don't leave me." But though Wolf's amber eyes were still open all recognition was gone from him now.

Tak did the only thing he could manage to do. He threw back his head and howled. He howled because he wanted his parents and sister, he howled because Wolf was dead. He was so overcome by what had happened that he barely noticed when his mother lifted him to his feet and backed away with him.

Torak was in a mix of shock and horror. Wolf was dead. His… pack-brother… was… gone. It didn't seem real. All at once the last eighteen summers of both their lives flew through his head. It was all so clear. Wolf twitching with impatience during his naming ceremony, Wolf refusing to get in a skim-boat, his relief at finding Wolf alive in the far north, it hurt to think of such things now. Tenderly but mechanically he lifted the body and carried it to where he set it down beneath an old willow tree overlooking the gully where they'd first met. The others followed in silence "Goodbye pack-brother, Go in peace." Torak said in wolf talk and then normally as he pressed his head into the fur of his beloved friend, breathing in Wolf's familiar scent for the last time. "How… did… this… happen?" he asked through sobs.

Tak had never seen is father so angry and heartbroken then he did now. All the man's body language screamed pain. _I did this, _Tak thought, _It's my fault Wolf is dead. Fa is like this because of my actions. _"It was a horse, my arrow… missed and Wolf tried to protect me when it charged. Darkfur and Pebble went after it." Tak answered. They returned to their camp and hours later Darkfur and Pebble returned empty-pawed.

Torak stood up, he drew his knife, and picked up is bow, quiver, and ax. He would have left without a word if Renn had not spoken up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to track down and kill that monster. The beast who took my pack-bother away from us will not go free." With that he disappeared.

In the coming days Darkfur refused to eat no matter how hard Renn, Tak, Rinn, and Pebble tried. The old Wolf seemed unable to face the prospect of life without her mate. She just allowed herself to waste away and a half moon later Darkfur too was claimed by death. Renn laid her next to her mate beneath the willow. She thought Darkfur would want it that way. Torak still had not returned.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Torak couldn't believe that Wolf was dead. Now, eight days later it still didn't feel real to him. He almost wanted to believe that the Soul Eaters had returned and that this whole mess was just a nightmare sent by one of them… that would have been easier. With Wolf gone, he felt every bit as hollow and alone as he'd been when his father had died. He was not about to let the creature who'd taken his beloved pack-brother away from him go free. No, he would never allow that. This was totally unforgivable. He knew that nothing he did would bring Wolf back, he also knew that if _he_ had died Wolf would not be doing this. Wolves didn't seek revenge. This was therefore unnecessary, it was more about Torak himself than anything. Perhaps that meant he was selfish, but he was long passed caring. His own heart would never be at peace until the horse Tak had spoken of was dead.

There had been a time when Wolf had believed Darkfur to be dead and it had nearly killed him. Torak wondered if Darkfur… had let herself die too… like Wolf had almost done. He could only hope that she hadn't but his heart knew that she probably had.

Wolf had been a guide, a protector, and a friend through everything that had happened. He had been killed protecting Tak, a true pack-brother to the last second. Torak knew that the beast he was hunting now could have killed Tak instead of Wolf. He could have lost his son. Torak knew this and a part of him thought that if it had happened that way it would have been his own fault. _I should have gone with him. He's still too young to hunt alone. I was older than he is when I made my first big kill. _But he pushed the thoughts away. What _could_ have happened and whose fault it would have been didn't matter, not now. What did was that Wolf had given his life to make sure it didn't happen. That sacrifice would not be in vain, Torak would repay Wolf by making sure of it.

But then, why would a forest horse attack someone? Forest Horses were more prone to run away than anything else. So why had it turned and charged instead? It made no sense, unless… _unless_ the horse was possessed by a demon. No, no that wasn't possible; who would do that? The soul eaters were long gone. Even if this were possible then why would they put a demon in a horse? Why not a powerful hunter like they'd done with the bear all those years ago? _The bear_, the bear had killed his father and if the days of the soul eaters _were_ really beginning again with this horse then it had probably meant to kill his son as well. Torak clenched his fists at the thought.

Finally after another quarter moon had passed he found what he was searching for. It was raining, it had been since the night Wolf had been killed. The perfect sunset that would have made tracking easy was hidden by clouds. Autumn combined with the clouds to make sure that the cold wetness hung in the damp still air without end. If only Torak really were a wolf. In this whether the horses scent would be a red flag to him. But there they were, sunken into the muddy ground were hoof prints. The back hoof prints were lighter. The animal was putting hardly any weight at all on its back legs. It was just as Tak had described. Torak followed the trail. His heart pounded against his chest when he saw it. In the rain he was soaked and his eyes were wild with grief and rage. He knocked and arrow, drew back, and released. It pierced the animal's head. It was done.

But a feeling came over Torak that was all too familiar, he saw that the horse's eyes were red with the blazing hatred of the Otherworld. The horse was possessed. A demon had done those awful things. He knew that this was what he ought to be concentrating on but he couldn't. By focusing on the demon Torak would be opening old wounds. What had happened to Wolf had cut him so deep that if he let in any more pain he might just lose his mind. At least that monster was dead. His revenge was complete for now and his family was safe.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Since Torak's departure Rinn had felt that this was exactly what her latest drawing had meant. She'd had prior warning of this and had done nothing about it. Strangely she only now realized that the three lines were the mark of the wolf clan. In a rush of anger at herself she threw a birch bark pail against a tree. How could she have been so stupid? Why hadn't she figured it out in time to warn Tak and prevent the whole incident? If she had… Wolf and Darkfur would still be alive now.

"Rinn… are you all right?" her mother asked.

"Yes," Rinn hadn't told Renn what she'd drawn. These days she never did. Renn could never know why her daughter was so angry with herself.

_I wish I could tell her. What would she think of me if she knew I had hidden omen that if I'd only gotten her to help could have kept Wolf alive?_ _I'm sorry Wolf, I'm sorry Fa, I'm sorry Darkfur, I'm sorry. _

Finally Torak returned. He looked exhausted and sad but the need for vengeance had left him. He only allowed himself to punch the earth when he heard that Darkfur too, was dead.

Torak seemed to be alright… but things weren't always what they seemed. He was shutting out the world. Renn had never felt so cut off from him. It was as if Wolf's death was a great fallen oak and Torak was trying to carry it alone. He'd numbed himself so that the grief couldn't reach him. Renn hoped that was all it was but she could sense something else below the surface.

"Torak I'm not an idiot, what's bothering you so much?" She asked at her first opportunity to speak to him alone, beyond the ear-shots of their children.

"Nothing, I'm fine." He said. It hit her like a thorn.

"You know I know you better than that. Stop lying and tell me what this is really about." Renn retorted.

"Leave it be Renn." He answered.

"It? What's it? Ah, so there is something."

"What did I just say?"

That was when they heard their daughter scream.

"Rinn, What happened?" They yelled together.

"What… was… that… thing? It was all covered in filth and it was growling at me." She said. "But it-it looked like a child."

Renn recognized the description immediately, a torkoth. Was this what Torak had been hiding from her?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

In the nights, following the torkoth encounter Rinn was tortured by her dreams. The nightmares were incessant, in one of the more common ones she was tied down to a stone slab. She could tell that this was summer, she could tell that this was not in the forest, and she could tell that she was up very high. Her capture was a strange, burned, evil looking man. Without truly understanding why, she hated him and yet… she felt that the two of them were somehow connected and that their lives were intertwined in some deep way she wasn't yet meant to realize. "Alright little girl" the evil man said, "Maybe I failed in trying to steal your father's power, but this time will be different. This time your Mother won't be here to save you. I'll make sure of that… personally."

Rinn woke with a start. She could hear her heart hammering beneath her buckskin dress. She got up and left the shelter. The pre-dawn light was still and cool. As Rinn looked toward the old willow she thought she saw a wolf, it's amber eyes were full of wisdom and life and impossibly familiar. Being careful not to speak their dead pack brother's name she asked "Is that you old friend? Why are you here?" but instead of giving any sort of answer it disapated into the morning mist.


	8. Chapter 8

"Look Fa, I found this." Tak said nearly a year later holding up a snow-white feather for Torak to see. At the age of twelve winters he was becoming an expert tracker. "I think it's a raven's feather but it's white, that's so strange."

"I know where this came from." Torak said, his find having instantly flown back to the time so many years ago when Dark and his strange colorless raven had held him against his will in the mountains. "Do you remember the clan meet we brought you and your sister to years ago? Do you remember Dark?" he asked.

"Wasn't he the guy with the white hair and eyes?"

"Yes, he may be near by or he could have left that behind deliberately." Torak explained.

It was then that Dark stepped out of the underbrush as if he'd been summoned. "You are correct my friend. I knew I would find you somewhere near by."

"How did you know we were here Dark?" Torak asked.

"I'm sure Renn never told you this but when two or more powerful mages exist in the same area their power crackles in the air in a way only detectable to each other. Renn alone would be impossible to ignore but your daughter… she is simply overwhelming."

"Your saying that Rinn is a mage." Torak said flatly, the mistrust was growing in his eyes.

"Only by nature my friend, she has a powerful gift. Whether or not she or anyone else knows about it or whether she knows how to use it is really not my concern. I only carry a message from Finn-Kedinn, he wishes the four of you return to the clan. The evil ones have not regained their power by any measure but they _are_ stirring. The forest can not afford to lose any of you and there is safety in numbers." Dark replied.

Torak relaxed. "You know for a mage you're not very cryptic, your predecessor would have gone out of her way to keep me in the dark and force us to her will." Torak said, he was making a joke about the former mage of the Raven clan.

"Torak, you and Renn are my friends. I don't believe in keeping things from those I care about. Besides, when things are kept from you your instinct is to run away from those who _could_ help you if you'd only let them. I have no idea whether the soul eaters are about to come back or not and no one knows how powerful they would be if they did. It is best that the past does not repeat itself."

"Very well, we'll come with you." Torak answered, he turned to his son. "Come Tak we will go get your mother and sister."

Renn was happy about returning to her clan but… not under these circumstances. If her uncle had ordered their return then the chances of the soul eaters' return must be much more serious then Dark had let on to Torak.

Since the clan meet Dark had found a mate in a woman from the mountain hair clan who'd come seeking shelter and directions for herself and her son. The woman's name was Song and it was she who embraced him when the five of them entered the camp, greeting the rest of them with the sign of friendship.

Rinn flinched at the familiar burning feeling that preceded a vision. She met her brother's eyes, all their lives since the visions began Tak had always supported her. He had helped her in her many futile attempts to resist even though he knew as well as she did that it was completely useless. He grasped her hand tightly and mouthed to her to think of something else.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_Resist! If you start drawing now they'll think you've gone mad! _Rinn screamed defiantly at herself. Thankfully Torak and Renn were already heading toward the large shelter in the center of the camp. Tak had made sure they were left behind and once the adults were gone he sprayed her with his water skin. The cold spray woke her before she was fully under the trance and the burning subsided.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

Rinn met his gaze, Tak always knew how she was as if he could read her mind, as if her emotions and pain were his as well. Right now he knew that for the first time they'd successfully stopped a vision from coming but there was still something very wrong. "I think so." She turned her eyes to the blue sky above the clearing. She tried to lift her right arm, but it wouldn't lift. Rinn began to panic. She tried again and again to move the arm and with each failure her dark eyes shot wide with terror.

While his sister fought to stay calm Tak's mind raced for a solution. He moved behind her and started pushing her east. "Come on, I've got an idea."

"Tak where are we…" before she could finish they had reached the banks of the Wind River. "This is your big idea?" she said.

"Ladies first." He said and with one firm but gentle high kick he pushed her in.

The water was as cold as the winter winds in the mountains and they had to hang on to a root to avoid being swept away but aside from that Rinn thought this was rather nice. . . until her brother pinched her between her neck and she shoulder. "Tak, what are you doing?"

"It's part of my plan. The Nanuwak sends energy down through your body and there are certain points where that energy pools. If you pinch one of those spots while swimming in cold water it sends the energy where it's going faster. Try moving your arm again."

She did and this time although it felt heavy and stone-like it obeyed. "Tak you're a genius!"

"See, I told you. You didn't really think I'd gone twelve winters without learning anything from Mother did you?"

They pulled themselves out of the river and waited until their cloths were nearly fry before they re-entered the camp. Tak, being the hunter that he was, surveyed the camp camp and everyone in it; his eyes catalogued the entire scene and noticed everything about it in an instant. There was little in the world that he did not take note of.

Deeper in the camp Torak and Renn at last caught up with Finn-Kedinn who flashed a rare smile at the sight of them. The Raven Leader had changed in the last five summers. His face was even more time-worn and stone like and almost all of his deep red beard was white now. Yet he was still changed in another way, there was something about him that made him seem friendlier somehow than he had ever been. Despite himself Torak was strangely unnerved by this and he didn't quite know why.

Renn called the children to join them, which they did. Torak was startled by the way Finn-Kedinn reacted though. Recognition is one of the hardest emotions to hide, not even Finn-Kedinn could hide it completely and yet. . . It was as if he'd never seen Tak or Rinn before. Finn-Kedinn did not forget things like this, even twelve years later he'd recognized his best friend's face in Torak's, what was going on here?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Dark came up behind them, "Renn, Torak, may I speak to the both of you alone for a moment?"

Renn nodded, Torak put a hand on Tak's shoulder. "Use your instincts son, Finn-Kedinn is definitely not our enemy but I have a feeling there is something wrong here." He whispered, then he rose and followed Renn and Dark to the edge of the camp.

When they were sure they were out of everyone's earshot Dark's colorless eyes narrowed. "As you may have noticed, Finn-Kedinn is a bit off. Pity your first encounter had to be on a bad day. I don't quite understand what is wrong with him but somehow he is slowly losing his mind. Every time a bad day comes his demeanor becomes more child-like and things that used to last in his memory are being forgotten. Just yesterday I caught him looking at the scar the demon bear gave him as if he had no idea where that one came from. This has not yet become a constant problem, he's not always like this and when he's not he's the same as ever. When he told me to find you his mind was in order. I don't understand it yet but, hopefully there is some way to reverse this."

Renn's eyes were clouded with locked up tears for her uncle. How could this be happening? The very idea of something like this terrified her, since she was a little girl Finn-Kedinn had been more a father to her than an uncle. This was a nightmare if Dark was right. She could only hope that there was indeed someway to reverse it. Torak put an arm around her in comfort. Until they knew more they could be the only ones who knew.

Finn-Kedinn was back to normal when they returned… at least for now.

A new shelter quickly went up for Torak and his family.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Six moons later Finn-Kedinn was nearly mindless almost all the time. Dark made most of the decisions for the clan now, though he often tried to consult Torak and Renn in his choices. Renn barely spoke to him anymore and spent most of her time either teaching basic magecraft to the children or keeping her uncle's fragile state a secret from the rest of the clan. Torak had come to resent Dark as well, he didn't want to help make decisions for the clan. That was the purpose of a mage and a leader, he refused to accept that his foster-father was no-longer capable. How long would it be before Finn-Kedinn would have to step down? Hopefully the answer was not soon.

Rinn watched her great-uncle deteriorate. He'd fallen so much in the last six moons that it almost seemed that she and Tak were older then he was. She was scared of what would happen. It had been Finn-Kedinn who had saved her father when he was outcast, would the clan keep accepting them?

The very nature of Rinn's visions had changed, now she heard Wolf speak to her sometimes, it was always in wolf talk but she understood perfectly. That had been going on since the morning she thought she had seen him but she had never told anyone. She still had the ones that made her draw them out but they had become less and less frequent. Rinn couldn't figure out why. As if to tame her fears a howl came to her ears, the song was steady and reassuring . "Seer my pack-sister be not afraid, there comes a time in the pack when the old male must concede to his son.

Another year had gone by without trouble. The hunting was good and it was discovered that even though Finn-Kedinn's madness couldn't be cured or reversed it could be controlled with the right herbs. If he actually took them that is.

Tragedy shook the clan one day when he did not. He had taken Tak hunting and he had followed a separate trail. When he came back to where he'd left his great uncle he found him on the ground unconscious with poisonous berries on his hands. Tak moved quickly carefully looking for a heartbeat. There was none.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

No one spoke as the clan carried Finn-Kedinn to the bone ground. The whole clan seemed in unspeakable mourning. Tak and Rinn could both see that their parents were racked with grief; it was like losing Wolf all over again except there were more people. Tak couldn't help feeling responsible for what had happened.

Rinn shuddered at the memory of her mother doing Finn-Kedinn's death marks. Never had Rinn seen her more broken.

No one seemed to know why Dark gathered the clan a few days later. The clan was largely leaderless now and somewhat disorganized.

"Before he died, the old one told me that he knew his time was arriving, and he told me who he wanted to succeed him as Leader of Raven Clan…" Dark paused, "Torak!!!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"What?!" Torak asked in shock. He wasn't even technically Raven Clan.

"It's true," Dark told him. "He asked for it to be you specifically."

Torak gazed out among the clan. Those he had known as a boy met his gaze with pride. No one would dare question Finn-Kedinn's final wish he realized. Torak's mind flashed back to when Finn-Kedinn had saved him from an angry mob and claimed him as his foster son by mixing their blood. It was through this act that Finn-Kedinn had admitted he loved him.

Torak turned away from the crowed in the direction of the bone ground to face his foster-father for the last time. _I will make you proud. I will keep your clan safe for the rest of my life. I swear on my three souls that I will not let you down. _He told him silently. He felt like the weight of an entire mountain had been entrusted to him. Torak knew that this was an honor he did not yet deserve.

A year had passed since her father had been named the new leader of the clan. At almost sixteen winters old Rinn was no longer considered a girl, she was old enough now to find a mate. Since she had lived with the clan she had been rather taken with Dark's foster-son. Flint was only three moons younger than she was, his gray eyes which were ever slanted against the raging winds of his birth land and his thick muscular body marked him as someone built to survive. This also made him very handsome. He had always been kind to her but only in the last eight moons had they begun to form a real bond.

They were walking peacefully until they came to a natural clearing where the sun found its way to the forest floor. It was there that Rinn stopped short. It was the three-pronged fork again. There it was drawn in the earth. It pointed toward the mountains. This was something that Rinn knew she should keep track of.


End file.
